I have been following Derrick's blog SG FOOD ON FOOT for his recommendations on where are the good eats in Singapore. Besides his food reviews, Derrick gives detailed directions on how to get to these places by public transport i.e. by bus and MRT (subway).
Recently, Derrick invited me to guest post on his blog about my Top 5 favourite eating places in JB. In line with Derrick's theme of going food hunting using public transport and on foot, I wrote a post about my favourite 5 eating places which are within 10 minutes walking distance from the Malaysian Immigration checkpoint in Johor Bahru.
✍ 2 May 2024. These eating places are just 10 minutes walk from the JB CIQ, so they are good for a day trip to get a taste of JB with little hassle as you can just get across from Singapore whenever you are free with little to no planning required. Just avoid eve of long weekends and long public holidays.
Ask any Batu Pahat resident and they will most likely be able to tell you about the famous Swee Kee (Shui Kee) Tonic Soup shop 水记炖品 .
Swee Kee serves a wide variety of tonic soups such as black chicken, kampung chicken, frog, pork ribs, and turtle.
One of my favourite soups is turtle soup, which is quite common in Singapore. However, turtle soup is much harder to find in Johor, let alone a good one.
Seeing that Swee Kee has turtle on its menu, I decided to give it a try.
Woww... It was more than I expected – having tasted so much turtle soup before, I must say that this is the best that I have tasted so far J
Swee Kee signature turtle soup at RM10.50 per serving
The herbal aroma is distinct yet delicate like a good fragrant tea. The mildly herbal soup is light, herbaliciuos (excuse the word J) and sweet, and had hardly any trace of oil in it. This is unlike in other soup places, where we often get turtle soups that are oily and murky.
The gelatinous parts were jelly like, firm, chewy yet tender. The collagen of soft shell turtles is credited with medicinal properties but I am more attracted to its taste and texture than any purported health benefits.
The turtle meat is sweet and chewy. Some say the texture is like chicken but to me it felt more like frog meat, but denser and firmer.
The rather ordinary looking yam rice was tasty and went really well with the herbal soup.
Swee Kee’s sambal chili deserves mention. The fiery looking ground chili paste is fresh and not too spicy. It really complements the taste of the turtle meat and yam rice very well.
I heard people raving about Swee Kee’s herbal black chicken soup. Shall try that too next time and have a turtle soup encoreJ
Swee Kee was featured in a TV show by local food celebrity Jason 阿贤.
Whenever I am at any food court and could not find anything that I fancy, mee pok tah always comes to my rescue, and has never failed me. My daughter who was away in school for four years, came home and the food she misses is mee pok tah. And, I have friends who keep asking me the same question, "Where to find good mee pok tah in Johor Bahru"?
I found a good one, Kiang Kee in Taman Permas Jaya, and today I found another, Sin Hock Guan 新福源 in Taman Maju Jaya.
See that large block of ice used to keep the bean sprouts fresh? It is details like this that make the difference.
Mdm Lim beaming with quiet confident pride
Sin Hock Guan 新福源 is run by a husband and wife team, the Lims, for the past 60 years. Mdm Lim cooks this traditional Teochew comfort food the same way she had been doing for the last 6 decades. It takes that special feel and expertise that can only come with years of experience to produce that characteristic QQ texture (al dente) in the noodles.
The QQ mee pok noodles were saturated with the spicy and slightly tangy sauce.
For RM6, we get a bowl of mee pok noodles in spicy sauce and a bowl of flavourful pork soup loaded with pork, liver, shrimps, handmade fish balls, fish dumplings and greens.
This is the favourite item that Sin Hock Guan's loyal following raves about. The super smooth and tender fresh handmade fish dumpling or hee kiaw鱼饺 - not the rough and coarse kind we often get elsewhere. I don't know where else to find hee kiaw鱼饺 this good.
Sin Hock Guan 新福源, old style mee pok tah prepared and served with the same pride and dedication for the last 60 years.
Ms Peggy Loh of the New Straits Times has written a nice article about the Lims' beautiful story. (The Lims have 8 grandchildren today J)
Restaurant name: Sin Hock Guan 新福源 (stall inside Kakilang coffee shop) Address: Jalan Abiad 1, Taman Maju Jaya Map: http://g.co/maps/hjzm5 GPS: 1.482528,103.767108 Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm Non Halal
Annalakshmi is an Indian vegetarian restaurant founded in Kuala Lumpur in 1984, and today has branches in Johor Bahru, India, Singapore and Australia. (Special thanks to my friend, Devesh Sharma, who introduced me to Annalakshmi restaurants.)
Annalakshmi restaurants are named after the Hindu Goddess of Plenty.
At Annalakshmi restaurants the food is cooked and served by volunteers. The chefs are usually housewives and thus the food have that distinct home cooked feel - lovely!
All walks of life and all races enjoying lunch at Annalakshmi
The traditional Indian vegetarian cuisine is simply presented in a buffet spread and the guests eat as much as they wish and enjoy.
Uniquely, at Annalakshmi there is no fixed price for the food. The guests pay any amount as s/he wishes. The concept is "Eat to your heart's content, pay what your heart feels."
This was my hearty lunch. Isn't it beautiful? The dishes were made with fresh vegetables and no artificial flavourings such as MSG were used. It was refreshing and delicious. It was a nice blend of spice fragrances, and textures of the different vegetables served.
Business is brisk as groups of guests stream in and out constantly. Yet, the atmosphere remains serene and unhurried. The friendly and smiling staff sets the tone of calm and serenity.
I also enjoyed the ambiance at Annalakshmi. The well appointed dining room is simply yet attractively decorated with beautiful carvings and paintings from India. Even the heavy wooden furniture are authentic pieces from India with intricate inlays.
As it is staffed wholly by volunteers, Annalakshmi's opening hours are relatively short - just 4 hours a day, from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
Try Annalalshmi for a sumptuous, healthy and hearty authentic traditional Indian vegetarian meal and a unique cultural experience.
Restaurant name: Annalakshmi Address: 39, Jalan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/6oCV GPS: 1.455971,103.763326 Hours: 11:00am to 3:00pm (closed on Sunday) Halal
Whenever I passed through the old part of downtown Johor Bahru, I would catch a glimpse of this quaint, dingy hole-in-the-wall shop without stopping or slowing down. Today, I slowed my pace a little, and let the glasses of herbal tea enticed me to stop, and find out what this shop was all about.
This turned out to be a more than 100-year old piece of living history! This old shop known as Kok Yow Yong 霍有用 has been a household name here since the time of its founder over a hundred years ago. Today, it is run by a grandmother, mother and son team who are direct descendants of the founder.
Through the years, Kok Yow Yong 霍有用 herbal tea had built up a loyal following from all ethnic groups from the surrounding areas, and also from Singaporean day trippers. Today, I saw a Singapore customer bring a vacuum flask to take home her herbal tea :)
Cooling chrysanthemum tea 菊花
Wong lo kat 王老吉 great for driving away heatiness
Kok Yow Yong herbal tea shop offers regular chrysanthemum tea 菊花 and wong lo kat 王老吉 at 70 sens. Made from real herbs, it felt like drinking herbal tea that our mums brew at home.
If you have a cough or a cold or just needed a vitality boost, the lady can make you an extra strength, special tea for RM5 to RM10. I asked for the RM5 brew and swallowed the bitter, grainy concoction in a couple of quick gulps. The lady then poured me half a glass of chrysanthemum tea to wash off the bitterness in the mouth. I did felt energised from the 3 herbal drinks which I sampled in quick succession.
Try it, this is the oldest traditional herbal tea shop in Johor Bahru.
Click on the picture to view the video on Kok Yow Yong by Fatbook Production.
Restaurant name: Kok Yow Yong 霍有用
Address: Junction of Jalan Trus and Jalan Pasar, Old Downtown Johor Bahru (near City Square)
My Johor kakis told me about how they love the chicken rice at Café Downtown in Hotel Tropical Inn. Being a chicken rice fan, of course, I am interested to check it out.
But the price tag of RM25++ made me think twice. RM25++ seems alot to pay for chicken rice in Johor Bahru where it can be had for under RM5 in many coffee shops.
I am an ardent nasi beriani fan, so when I heard that Hotel Tropical Inn in Johor Bahru has a nasi beriani buffet every Wednesday at RM25++, I immediately made up my mind to go for it J
Well, I found out that I was not the only one craving for nasi beriani.
The guests were greeted at the entrance of Café Downtown with mutton rendang made with whole legs of New Zealand lamb.
The cheerful Chef Ong personally cuts the guest's chosen part of the lamb's leg.
The lamb is tender and subtly fragrant with no hint of that gaminess associated with mutton (though personally I like that unique lamb flavour). The gravy is mild and gently aromatic.
The lamb is moist and loaded with flavourful juice inside.
The basmati rice cooked with ghee and spices such as star anise and cinnamon, and topped with fried shallots and chopped spring unions was delicately fragrant, fluffy yet slightly nutty and crunchy.
Of course, one cannot have nasi beriani without papadum and achar. I love the papadum here; they are fried just right - light and dry, without any residual oil clinging onto the crispy crackle. The crunchy achar was a nice blend of subtle sweet, sour, salty and spicy tastes.
Besides the signature nasi beriani, the Wednesday buffet at Café Downtown also serves a wide variety of other favourites such as ayam korma, laksa Johor, achar fish, and many other dishes.
Restaurant name: Café Downtown @ Tropical Inn Address: 15, Jalan Gereja, Johor Bahru Map: http://goo.gl/maps/uJXg GPS: 1.465661,103.760456 Hours: Noon to 2:00pm Halal
